Fulghum vs Stevens Predictions: Super middleweight shot awaits the winner

WBA super middleweight number-six Darius Fulghum looks to advance this Saturday, November 8 when he takes on David Stevens. The fight takes place at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. DAZN will broadcast the event, which is headlined by Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Erickson Lubin.

Here are my Fulghum vs Stevens predictions.

Fulghum vs Stevens Odds

Stevens is the 18/5 outsider here, with Fulghum a 2/9 favourite. The draw is priced at 16/1.

Fulghum vs Stevens Fight Preview

This fight will see one of these combatants battle their way inside from the fringes of contention. The super middleweight division is wide open at the moment, with it being unclear where undisputed champion Terence Crawford is headed next. After his generational upset over Saul Canelo Alvarez, ‘Bud’ can pick his shot. Reports suggest he is eyeing a fight at middleweight, with WBO and IBF champion Janibek Alimkhanuly in his sights.

This could mean that, very soon, the four sanctioning body titles will become vacant. Christian Mbilli and Jose Armando Resendiz hold interim titles for the WBC and WBA respectively, which will see them upgraded if Crawford abdicates. With box-offs to follow in that situation for the WBO and IBF, it seems likely the 168-pound class will have four separate champions for the first time in over five years.

Fulghum’s scrap with Stevens is a WBA eliminator, which should clear a path towards Crawford or, more likely, Resendiz. But a victory is likely to boost the winner in at least one of the other rankings too. Lots on the line for two men who have been out in the cold.

The reason for that is the same for both. The lingering throughline to Saturday’s fight is a boxer who will not compete on the Texas card; Bektemir Melikuziev. In his last two fights, the Olympic silver medallist has beaten both Fulghum and Stevens. ‘Bek The Bully’ indeed.

Stevens was up first for the Uzbek boxer. Melikuziev won a split decision last year with wide scores of 118-110 and 117-111 cancelling out a 116-112 card in Stevens’ favour. Despite the wildly divergent cards either way, a split decision did justice to a nip-and-tuck battle. Melikuziev needed a late rally to rescue a fight that looked like slipping away.

Fulghum went down unanimously to Melikuziev back in May. But the three 114-112 scorecards reflect how tight the contest was. A points deduction for holding nearly did for Melikuziev. But Fulghum suffered a knockdown in the last round to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

So Saturday sees a clash between two men who would happily never see Melikuziev again. Both came close to defeating the title-bound Uzbek, but now the focus turns to each other.

Stevens has already reset following the Melikuziev defeat. He was expected to give 13-0 amateur standout Petr Khamukov his first gut-check as a professional. But Stevens went one better, clearly outpointing the Russian Olympian over 10 rounds to take home a unanimous nod. ‘Dynamite’ is a fighter you must handle with care.

Fulghum does not have the benefit of a buffer win to separate him from his recent disappointment. But the ‘DFG’ will fancy this one. He is a knockout artist, with 12 finishes from 14 victories. A four-round stoppage of Winfred Harris in February was a decent scalp. Let’s see if Fulghum can take that power up in class.

Stevens can hit too, as one would expect from a fighter calling themselves ‘Dynamite’. 10 KOs in 15 wins is a decent return at this level. But there is a whisper of vulnerability. Stevens was knocked out in one round by the middling Joseshon James. Can Fulghum find the punches to expose that potential weakness?

Fulghum vs Stevens Full Card

Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Erickson Lubin

Darius Fulghum vs David Stevens

Robin Sirwan Safar vs Derick Miller Jr

Amari Jones vs Shady Gamhour

Eric Priest vs Esneiker Correa

Figo Ramirez Gonzalez vs Oziel Rangel Aradillas

Joshua Edwards vs Zeno Vooris

Javier Meza vs Joshua Briones Garcia

Samuel Torres vs Ricardo Elizalde

Fulghum vs Stevens Prediction

Both men will want this. An all-or-nothing shot at either being a contender in a division soon to be rife with opportunity. For the loser, a slide down into gatekeeper status as the division’s rising stars seek fodder.

I reckon it’ll be close, this one. Stevens has learned lessons and looks harder to shift these days. Fulghum has power and I think he is gaining moxy and ring smarts along the way. I’ll give the edge to Fulghum at 2/9.

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